Not Quite A Storybook Romance (But Better)
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Tony is cold, has been for as long as he can remember. When he's suddenly warm, nobody could have predicted the chain of events that followed. Soulmate!AU


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **Written for;**

 **Romance Awareness, Day 6**. You feel everything your soulmate feels.

 **Auction** \- Marvel Universe.

 **Word Count** \- 1952

* * *

 **Not Quite A Storybook Romance (But Better)**

* * *

Tony grew up feeling cold. He'd never known warmth, not for an instance in his memory. Not even when sitting in front of a burning fire had he felt anything.

The doctors were baffled by the phenomenon, they tried countless variations on trying to raise his temperature, all to no avail. He was just cold.

It wasn't the nicest feeling, but it's what Tony knew. When he was younger, Jarvis would dress him up in the most expensive knitwear available, even on the sunniest of days. It made no difference, so when Tony was old enough to dress himself, he donned what the cool kids were wearing in an effort to fit in instead.

Not that he ever really did.

Nobody wanted to be friends with the kid who was so cold it was like touching ice.

Rhodey was the first person to look past Tony's cold skin. He was the first to decide that Tony was still worth knowing, despite his didn't avoid contact with Tony, even going so far as to use Tony's hand as an icepack whenever he was too warm or had a headache. Apart from Jarvis, nobody had ever done that before.

Even Tony's parents had shied away from touching him.

As he aged, as he was betrayed again and again and again, he slowly hardened himself until his heart was almost as cold as his skin.

Only Pepper and Rhodey saw the Tony that they'd always known. The insecure, clingy, loving Tony that only wanted people to accept him the way he was.

If Tony had anything to say about it, it would stay that way.

…

"Pep…"

Pepper looked up to see Tony stumbling into the office. He looked _awful._ His skin was paler than usual, and… was that sweat?

"Pep, I don't feel so good."

She leapt up from her seat and crossed the room, helping Tony to sit down on the wide sofa in the office. When her hand touched is, she flinched away, staring at him in shock.

"Tony… you're _warm_."

…

The doctors were once again, baffled. Nobody could understand why, after so many years, Tony would suddenly be warm to the touch.

The genius wasn't handling it well. He'd longed to know what warmth felt like for so long, but now that he finally had it, he'd give anything to take it away again. He didn't like sweating, and even the slightest bit of heat now left him feeling faint.

As soon as he was released from the hospital, he headed straight for his lab and installed temperature control in his Iron Man suit, to ensure he could remain cool inside it. The last thing he needed was to get overheated.

And then Fury was there, with his eye patch and smugness and Tony just knew that he wasn't going to enjoy whatever came next.

…

Steve Rogers.

Captain America.

 _Found frozen in the ice._

Tony's soulmate.

Fuck it all to hell.

…

"We should probably talk about this, you know?"

Tony shrugged, watching Thor escort Loki away. "There's not really much to say, Cap. It is what it is."

"Neither us leave the safest of lives, Tony," Steve replied, his utter calmness irritating to Tony. "And I'm not sure I like the idea of you feeling what I feel. I heal quickly, you don't."

"Like I said, it is what it is. There's no way to 'fix' soulmates. Even death isn't an option, since if I die, you die and vice-versa. It's… shit. But it's a thing that's happening and we're just going to have to work around it."

"The whole feel what you soulmate feels is… hard, I agree. Have you realised that I won't die for a long time, unless… well. That means you'll live longer too."

Sighing, Tony pinched the skin between his eyes. "Look, Cap, I don't… I don't really want to discuss this. It's… not important in the grand scheme. I'll try and keep myself alive so you don't… but hey, maybe the serum will at least bypass that aspect, right?"

Steve frowned and opened his mouth to retort, but Tony shook his head. "I'm really done with this conversation. I don't… a soulmate isn't something I want or need. It's… messy and complicated and I can't -" Tony cut himself off. "I can't. I'm sorry."

Turning away, Tony wrapped his arm around Bruce's shoulder and led him over to the car. Science was what he needed to take his mind off this. Science was reliable. Science didn't betray.

…

Tony thought that would be the end of it. Steve was heading out to 'find himself' or something like that anyway, and how many alien attacks could there possible be to bring him back?

Bad question, because it was only a few months later and Steve Rogers was standing in front of him with a sheepish smile on his face and _asking him to dinner._

"What the hell, Rogers?"

Steve rubbed his neck. "I… well. I know you said you didn't want to… but, I just thought, we're teammates? And even if we're not going to do the… we could still be friends, right?"

Tony blinked at the disjointed sentences. "I… guess?"

"Right. So. Dinner?"

…

Tony was _furious._

With himself. With Steve. With soulmates. With _everything._

He'd kept his distance.

He went out with Steve occasionally, and even gave in when Fury pointedly suggested that having the Avengers all living in the same place was a good plan.

But he still kept his distance.

Steve, with his quiet laugh, and his earnest interest in whatever Tony was waffling about, and his sketching, and his awe over the smallest things in the 'future', had gotten under Tony's skin. Steve with his sheepish smile, and his gentle touch, and his concern over Tony's health had snuck into Tony's heart.

Tony was in love with his soulmate.

Tony was _furious._

…

"You're avoiding me."

Tony blinked, spinning his lab chair around to meet Steve's eyes.

"Clearly not, since you're here. You know I can have Jarvis lock the place down, right?"

"Like you have for the last three weeks, you mean?" Steve asked, his head tilting to the side slightly.

"I wasn't here," Tony replied with a shrug. "Jarv knows not to let people in when I'm not here. There's breakable things in here."

"Where were you?"

"Taking care of my company. You know, the thing that funds everything we do around here."

Steve raised his eyebrow. "Are you planning to tell me how I've upset you?"

"You haven't."

"Uh huh," Steve replied. "You haven't been this defensive with me since the first time we met on the helicarrier."

"I have a lot of work to do, Steve, so if that's all?" Tony replied, already spinning his chair back around so he had his back to the super soldier.

He didn't expect the hands on his shoulder, the grip gentle but firm. He didn't expect the kiss to his cheek.

"When you're ready to admit that we're more than friends, come and find me, Tony."

Steve got to the door before Tony couldn't hold himself any longer. He spun around, standing from his chair and taking an involuntary step forward.

"How did you know?"

Steve smiled. "Because the look in your eyes when you look at me? That's how I look when I'm thinking about you. And I love you."

"You can't."

"I can. I do. If you're not ready to accept it, that's okay. I'm not going to try and force this on you. Just… don't cut me out. I'd rather have you as my friend than nothing at all."

Tony was left standing alone in his lab, his mind in turmoil.

…

"Son of a bitch," Tony gasped, stumbling in mid air as he lost control of his suite. "Alright, Steve?" he gasped out, righting himself.

That was some blow to the side Steve had just taken. Cursing the soulmate connection once again, Tony blasted three Doom Bots to the side and flew towards where Steve had been last.

"I'm fine," Steve assured him over the comms. "Could do with some assistance around this way though, if anyone is free."

"On it," Tony replied.

…

"You okay?"

Tony blinked, looking up at Steve. They'd all collapsed in the common living room at the tower as soon as the battle was over. Tony had lazily had Jarvis order in everyone's favourite foods, and they were currently waiting on the food order.

"Fine," Tony replied after a second. "Tired."

"How's your side?"

"Alright. That serum is potent, isn't it?"

Steve grinned and nodded, sitting down on the sofa beside Tony.

"Movie?" he asked the team, gaining various forms of agreement from the tired crew.

…

Tony woke slowly. He felt warm… comfortably warm. He couldn't even remember falling asleep. It took him a few moments to realise that his pillow was moving.

Shifting, he looked to the side to find himself splayed out over Steve's chest, the movement being Steve's breathing, a gentle flow of up and down.

Steve's arms were wrapped around him, but instead of panicking him or making him feel closed in, it made Tony feel… safe.

Steve shifted, his breathing speeding up just a little as he woke up. Tony remained still, wondering if he could pretend to be still asleep, when Steve ran a hand through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"I know you're awake."

"How do you always know?" Tony asked, pouting as he looked up at Steve.

"I pay far too much attention to you," Steve replied with a small smile.

Tony sat up, immediately missing the feeling of Steve wrapped around him. They were the only two left in the common room.

"Time, Jarv?"

"It's five forty four am, Sir," Jarvis replied immediately.

Tony's eyes widened. "I slept the night through?"

Steve smiled, apparently unable to stow his smugness completely. Tony rolled his eyes at him, and then smiled back despite himself.

Stretching, Steve stood up.

"Are you heading out for your run?" Tony asked, still slumped on the sofa.

"Actually… would you spend the day with me?" Steve asked. "We could shower now, and head out for breakfast and then… do something?"

Tony hesitated before he nodded. "Okay. But… I insist on seperate showers. What kind of man do you think I am, Rogers?"

Steve's blush had Tony laughing all the way up to his floor.

…

"Thank you… for indulging me today," Steve said later that evening. They'd spent the whole day together, moving from one tourist trap to another, laughing and joking the entire time.

They were finishing the day off with a stroll through Central Park.

Tony stared at him for a long moment and then hesitantly slipped his hand into Steve's.

"So… maybe I was… not wrong, but hasty. When I said I couldn't do… the thing."

Steve's lips tilted up.

"But also, expectations are high and… hell, Steve, you know what I'm like. I binge science, and forget dates and anniversaries, and I don't really sleep often, and I eat even less and I don't -"

"You're right," Steve interrupted. "I do know what you're like. And I want you anyway."

They paused in their walk to face each other.

"You know, this is as big a cliche as it could possibly be, right?" Tony asked, licking his lips nervously.

Steve laughed quietly. "We're soulmates, Tony. How much more cliched could we be?"

When their lips met, it wasn't fireworks, or electric or any of the ridiculous things first kisses are described as in the storybooks.

It was slightly awkward, and slightly messy and absolutely real.

It was right.


End file.
